Growth in scaling companies ($10M–$200M ARR) is often misunderstood. Sales claims they close it, Marketing generates it, Customer Success retains and expands it. Everyone is right – and that’s the problem.
In a recent episode of “What Makes You Tick” podcast, I debated with Eric Hachmer (Fractional CRO) and Andrea Bumstead (Fractional CCO), hosted by Richard Washington. We explored why growth breaks down in team handoffs and how to fix it.
Key Insights from the Debate:
- Growth is a Relay Race, Not a Solo Sport Revenue ownership (often pinned on CRO) differs from true growth ownership. Boards focus on new business, but expansion from existing customers is cheaper and compounds faster.
- Customer Success: The Underestimated Engine CS “sits on all the money” – renewals and expansions fuel sustained growth far more than new logos alone.
- GTM Alignment is Essential Silos, misaligned incentives, and poor handoffs kill momentum. Treat growth as an end-to-end system: shared outcomes, curiosity, feedback loops, and cross-functional projects (win-loss reviews, team rotations).
- Culture > Incentives Narrow the seams between teams, model collaborative behavior from leadership, and focus on vital metrics. Tool overload and admin work steal time from real value.
- Uncomfortable Truths Quotas often use “lazy math,” Marketing isn’t just a cost center, and CS needs enablement like Sales does.